Long Beach volume surges in March, L.A.'s falls

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

March container volume at the Port of Los Angeles plummeted 22.6 percent year-on-year, including a 28.8 percent drop in inbound cargo, the port reported this week.
Meanwhile, total volume at the neighboring Port of Long Beach rose 5.4 percent, despite a 0.5 percent drop in loaded import volume during the month.
Total volume at Long Beach for March was 486,699 TEUs, nearly matching the 503,168 TEUs handled at Los Angeles. In March 2012, Los Angeles handled nearly 200,000 TEUs more than Long Beach.
“Imports slowed in March due to the Lunar New Year holiday, which affects production in many Asian countries that export to the United States,” the Port of Long Beach said in a statement. “Compared to 2012, the holiday celebration started later this year and the effects were pushed to March, while last year's holiday slowed trade in February 2012.”
Export volume through Long Beach rose 7.9 percent in March to 156,212 TEUs, while it fell 17.9 percent through Los Angeles to 154,428 TEUs.
Year-to-date, Los Angeles volume is down 4.7 percent at 1.8 million TEUs, while Long Beach volume is up 18.9 percent at 1.5 million TEUs. - Eric Johnson